Blackjack: Using Other Players

Many players are unaware when they have a very profitable hand, sometimes players do not want to double or split because of the cost of a supplementary bet. Many other players underestimate the value of their hands because they do not understand the Blackjack Basic Strategy.

An astute player can play the hands of another player by deciding to double or split by paying the bet themselves. Consider the case of a pair of sevens against croupier who has a three. This hand favours the hose, regardless of whether the 7 is separated or not, but the best strategy is to separate them because a 14 loses twice as many times as a 7. If a player is capable of playing one of his 7’s by another player, he will rid himself of a bad hand; he then only has to play a single hand with a 7 versus a 3, rather than two hands of 7.

The above strategy can also be employed in the opposite direction. A person could be tempted to not separate a pair of 2s against a 5 or a 6 of the croupiers. In this situation, the astute player can offer to pay the bet and play the hands separately, because a 2 versus a 6 is favourable to the player. Sometimes a player will not have enough chips (money) to play the split with a pair of 8s against a 7 or a 6 belonging to the croupier, which is also a good situation to invest in a bet, because the 8 is more likely to win against a 7 or a 6.

An astute player can also associate themselves with a player who frequently doubles. The majority of casinos offer the possibility to ‘double for less’. This means simply that it is possible to double for an inferior bet to the initial bet. If the player does this on a winning hand (all the ‘double down’ of the Blackjack Basic Strategy are winning hands), a good player can enter into the double by offering to pay the rest of the bet, i.e. the difference between what the other player can afford and the original bet. A common situation is an 11 versus a 10 pertaining to the croupier. For the most part people prefer doubling for a small amount; the advanced blackjack player will always double with the same amount as the initial bet, because in the long run this is actually the most profitable strategy to adopt.

If a player prefers to hid an extra card rather than to double (because they are scared of receiving a weaker card), they are sometimes correct in proposing not only the payment of the double, but also the payment of the player bet if the hand loses. It is common enough with an 11 versus a 6. Once a player doubles with an 11 versus a 6, the win twice as often as they lose, it is thus very reasonable, and recommended, to propose to pay the original bet and the double bet. This is a win-win strategy, the initial player can not lose, and the player who proposes to pay the bet does not take a very large risk.